The present invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions for cerebral and neuronal diseases containing physiologically active substances extracted from infected tissues.
Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) has biological activities stimulating differentiation and growth of sympathetic and sensory neurons. Relation between NGF and neuronal diseases at peripheral nerve has been suggested for long time, therefore NGF has been put up as a candidate for drugs to treat those diseases. Recently, it has also become clear that NGF is produced and performs functions at brain. Correlation between NGF and the cause of Alzheimer's senile dementia has been focused, and it is much expected to use NGF as a drug for dementia. However, since NGF is a proteinic factor, there are many problems such as administration route and pharmaceutical dosage form at administration of NGF to human. Therefore, it has been desired to develop drugs having nerve growth stimulating effect as NGF, which can be easily administered to human as well as having greater safety without any side effects.
As a result of investigations concerning physiologically active substances extracted from infected tissues and produced by inoculation with a poxvirus to animal tissues, organs or cultured cells. The substances have been found having excellent NGF-like action on nerve system.
An object of the present invention is to provide pharmaceutical compositions for cerebral and neuronal diseases containing physiologically active substances extracted from infected tissues. Another object of the invention is to provide a method for treating neuronal diseases in mammals which comprises administering an effective amount of physiologically active substances extracted from infected tissues.